October 2020 Newsletter
News & Commentaries by Ron Robins
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Latest Podcasts:
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Latest Podcast: Jim Cramer’s Hydrogen Stocks. And Much More… “Jim Cramer’s hydrogen stocks: Linde and Plug Power. Other ESG, sustainable, and infrastructure stocks covered are Apple, Brookfield Renewable Partners, Steel Dynamics, Edison International, Duke Energy, Algonquin Power and Utilities, AES Corp., JinkoSolar, SolarEdge Technologies, NextEra Energy, Bloom Energy, United Rentals, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, Nucor, Halma, and Croder. Analysts from The Motley Fool and MoneyShow.”
— By Ron Robins
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Sustainability Initiative: Bank for International Settlements. “Worldwide, central banks and regulators have slowly implemented new policies and initiatives to reduce their exposure to climate risk. Leading the way is the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which, in 2017, took up the challenge of introducing a corporate bond investment pool that screens investments according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles.”
[COMMENTARY] If the BIS is fully behind ESG investing, how far behind can the whole investment world be?
Sustainability Initiative: Bank for International Settlements, by Rachael King, October 28, 2020, Central Banking, UK.
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It’s time we added a letter to ESG. Here’s why. “While the recognition of all things ESG is finally happening, there is no time to waste to add a ‘T’ for technology — making ESGT — to include the vast and growing array of technology and digital issues, risks and opportunities.”
[COMMENTARY] The case is compelling when you see the list of reasons for this in the article. I guess ‘governance’ could cover the ‘T’. But that doesn’t cover the scope of the issues mentioned.
It’s time we added a letter to ESG. Here’s why, Andrea Bonime-Blanc, October 14, 2020, World Economic Forum, Switzerland.
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ESG Investing Will Not Grow Successfully Without Global Data Standards And Regulations, Says OECD. “Last week, the OECD released its 2020 business and finance outlook report, Sustainable and Resilient Finance. The reports delivers a consequential and timely conclusion: ESG scoring and reporting has the potential to unlock a significant amount of information on the management and resilience of companies, but will require agreed global data standards and regulations.”
[COMMENTARY] I agree with the OECD that global ESG data standards would be good. However, even if standards aren’t reached the case for ESG has been made.
ESG Investing Will Not Grow Successfully Without Global Data Standards And Regulations, Says OECD, by Lawrence Wintermeyer, October 8, 2020, Forbes, USA.
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ESG Investing Looks Like Just Another Stock Bubble. “In recent years, ESG-related investments have consistently outperformed their counterparts. That, however, could be an accident — many ESG funds invest heavily in tech companies, and tech most likely is rallying for reasons that have nothing to do with ESG. Many ESG funds exclude fossil fuel investments, but fossil fuel investments could also be doing poorly for reasons that have nothing to do with ESG. Look closely, and it appears that ESG is just another old-fashioned stock market bubble.”
[COMMENTARY] The writer makes a few valid points–though overemphasized in my view. Yes, tech is doing well — partly because of the lock-downs. And fossil fuels doing badly as a result of them. However, one can’t escape the fact that many industries are simply preferred by the 50%-80% of investors who want to invest ethically and sustainably!
ESG Investing Looks Like Just Another Stock Bubble, by Jared Dillian, October 5, 2020, Financial Advisor, USA.
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Report: Asset managers must explain how sustainability measures benefit stakeholders. “Asset managers need to do more to explain how sustainability measures actually benefit stakeholders, according to the Thinking Ahead Institute. In its new report, Sustainability: Understanding impact and value creation, the institute warns that investment organisations need to be wary of the gap between their positive intentions for a more sustainable economy and their ability to deliver it.”
[COMMENTARY] This report is a reminder of how important it is for companies and the investment community to understand what is material and relevant for a company’s sustainability and profitability.
Report: Asset managers must explain how sustainability measures benefit stakeholders, by Stephen Little, October 6, 2020, Investment Week, UK.
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Featured Book
The Ethical Investor…s Handbook: How to Grow Your Money Without Wrecking the Earth, by Morten Strange, Marshall Cavendish International (Asia) Pte Ltd., 2019.
…Strange is articulate, has a great sense of understanding of the subject and a good turn of phrase, combined with the financial rigour, to tackle one of the key challenges facing investors who are not convinced by climate change … I would thoroughly recommend this book!…… Lawrence Gosling Editor-in-chief, WhatInvestment (UK).
